Music for the home parlor…
Brothers Adam/voc-fi-key and David/voc-cel-g Moss are reminiscent of the Everly Brothers in their rich harmonies on a mix of standards, backed by a team of Ryan Scott/g, Alison Brown/banj, Michael Rinne/b, Jeff Picker/g-g Matty Meyer/dr and a collection of backing vocalists. The haunting melding of voices works smoothly on “That’s How I Got TO Memphis” and The Beatles’ “I Will” and the a cappella take of “I Get Along Without You Very Well” is almost Gregorian in its reverence. There’s a folksy ramblin’ man Nitty Gritty Dirt Band feel to Jackson Brown’s “These Days” and”Feelin’ Good Again” while the team does a nice two step to “Blue Virginia Blues”. Puree’d voices to perfection.
John McCutcheon is an Old School minstrel, spinning yarns in the vein of John Stewart, The Limelighters or Danny O’Keefe as he cuts and pastes bands ranging from duets wth Jon Carroll/p-org on the personal “Nobody Knows” to fuller teams with Stuart Duncan/fi, Carroll/p, JT Brown/bouz-g, and vocalists on the troubador’d “The Ride”, even going it all alone with guitar and autoharp on “The First Ones”. Duncan’s fiddle adds a rural feel ot “Shadowland” and there’s lots of fun bluegrass moments on”Sorry Land” and “Song When You Are Dead”. As with all ramblin’ men, McCutcheon tells tales fit for the campfire, so listen in and imagine.
The hubby/wife combo of Andrew Stern and Laura Arias mix their vocals and composing together with a team of Randy Cooke/dr, Dave Cohen/key and Greg Perkins/voc to create an album reminiscent of vintage Byrds and other Sweethearts of the Rodeo. The album has a big sound, with rich vocal harmonies on pieces like “Leap of Faith” and “Evensong” with Arias’ sweet nasally voice sounding straight out of the Moose Lodge on the upbeat “Sweet Spot”. There are some dreamy moments on “Ghosted” and personal moments on the acoustically countrified “The Waiting” while the couple show they can boogie on the Texas two stepper “Mighty Love” and the rockish “Labor Day”. Music for the county fair.